The American Board of Surgery Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

The abs incurs costs associated with the development, initial certification and administration of continuous certification and focused practice designation by abs, and in issuing certificates of qualification to all candidates meeting the abs's requirements. During the fiscal year ended june 30, 2025, there were 29,732 individuals who took an examination, including 11,562 surgery residents taking their in-training examinations, 2,116 individuals obtained initial certification, 13,324 took the continuous certification assessment for general and other specialties, 46 abs diplomates took the metabolic and bariatric surgery focused practice designation, and 109 abs diplomates took the adult complex thyroid and parathyroid surgery focus practice designation. The types of examinations the costs are incurred for include the following: in-training, qualifying, certifying, re-entry, continuous certification assessments including entrustable professional activity assessments, and focused practice recognition. The areas of specialty include general surgery and vascular surgery, and subspecialties include surgical critical care, pediatric surgery, surgery of the hand, complex general surgical oncology, metabolic and bariatric surgery, and adult complex thyroid and parathyroid surgery. The score arm of the abs incurs expenses in providing high-quality educational content in support of the score curriculum to residents and residency programs via the score portal on the organization's website. The score curriculum is designed to define the pertinent specialties of general surgery and provide greater assurance that residents are receiving sufficient training in all areas. The curriculum focuses on the five years of progressive education and training that constitute general surgery residency in the u.s., after medical school but prior to independent practice, and separate modules address the training of vascular surgeons and subspecialists in pediatric surgery, surgical critical care, and complex general surgical oncology.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: Limited
• Program expense ratio: Limited
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 18.6%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.55; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 24.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings